Board aims for spring ’16 Reclaiming First opening

Tuesday

May 6, 2014 at 10:52 PMMay 6, 2014 at 10:52 PM

By Kevin HaasRockford Register Star

ROCKFORD — A 2-month-old board in charge of spending hotel taxes to bolster the region’s sports tourism met Tuesday for the second time, unveiling a new timetable for construction and remaining funding gaps.

The Winnebago County Regional Tourism Facility Board is a cooperative panel of mayors, village presidents and other leaders from Rockford, Winnebago County, Loves Park, Machesney Park, Roscoe, South Beloit, Rockton, Cherry Valley, Rockford Park District and Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The board was created to oversee spending of a newly implemented 2 percent hotel tax. The tax partially funds the construction of a downtown sports complex in the former Ingersoll building; lighted, artificial turf fields at Sportscore Two; and expansion of the Indoor Sports Center in Loves Park.

Here are a few highlights from the board’s discussion.

Open in 2016

Reclaiming First, the name given to the sports tourism project, has hit its share of delays since it was proposed in late 2011. The latest snag was over the historic significance of the former Rockford High School and Rockford School District headquarters at 201 S. Madison St., which the city wants to turn into a parking lot to support the downtown sports complex.

The city has an agreement with the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency that allows it to demolish the building if it can prove that no developers are interested in saving the 130-year-old structure. That process could take up to six months, but officials are hopeful about wrapping it up sooner.

The estimates provided Tuesday are for construction of the sports complex to start in October, although city officials say it’s an aggressive timeline. The anticipated opening date is March 2016 if construction can start this fall. Likewise, the opening of seven outdoor artificial turf fields and five indoor synthetic turf fields is scheduled for spring 2016.

Funding gap

The $27.5 million improvements at Sportscore Two draws from hotel taxes and contributions from several municipalities and the Rockford Park District. Loves Park agreed to pay $3.38 million and Winnebago County will pay $7 million, each spread over the next 20 years. Machesney Park and Cherry Valley were asked to contribute $600,000 each over the next two decades, but neither has OK’d the payment.

Machesney Park approved $50,000 over two years before it decides whether to continue to fund the initiative. Cherry Valley, won’t approve the request as is village Administrator Jim Wise told the board Tuesday; the board will likely opt for a lesser commitment because trustees are concerned about obligating future boards and mayors to the $30,000-a-year payment.

Reclaiming First is anticipated to produce $16.5 million annually in private-sector spending and $1.9 million in new tax revenue. Cherry Valley stands to gain from the development through sales tax generated by visitors who shop at CherryVale Mall after or in between games, said Stacy Bernardi, Winnebago County’s economic development director.

“Why would you not want to participate when you stand to gain the most?” she said.

Every field counts

Officials would have to consider scaling back the project if they can’t secure the money, something that would limit the effect Reclaiming First can have on the region’s economy, Rockford Park District Executive Director Tim Dimke said.

One fewer field could mean 25 to 30 fewer teams in town for a weekend tournament. That equates to fewer hotel stays and less money spent at restaurants and businesses. Fewer fields also make Rockford less attractive than competitors that aim to host tournaments in their cities.

“Every field is critical,” Dimke said.

In April 2008, the Park District had to cancel a 600-team tournament because of soggy fields and snow. If the seven artificial-turf fields had existed then, the district could have salvaged more than 200 teams, Dimke said.

Instead, “our community lost, collectively, $1 million in tourism money because of that one weekend.”